Ash receiver



Aug. 5, 1952 E. J. SWEETLAND ASH RECEIVER Filed March 29, 1947 Patented Aug. 5, 1 952 ASH RECEIVER Ernest J. Sweetland, Piedmont, Calif., assignor to Sweetland Development Company San 1 Francisco, Calif., a partnership r Application March 29, 1947,;SerialNo. 738,101 1 This invention relates to a device for use in vehicles, and comprises an automatic means for extinguishing and disposing of cigarettes by the use of a simple mechanism which is actuated by the motion of the vehicle.

' A further object of the invention is to'provide for the automatic disposal of burnt matches, ashes, and similar discardedwaste inatter,in a manner that is simple and automatic and elimihates the fire risk that'arises from the careless disposal of cigarette-ends, burnt matches, and the like. 7 Q r A further object is to provide a simple form of ash receiver having a'rotatableash-receiving element which dischargesinto a closed receptacle that is sealed by said rotatable element to prevent the escape of smoke ."or odors from the receptacle.

A further object is to provide ash-receiving means for vehicles in the form of a cylinder with peripheral cavities, which is concealed within a wall of the vehicle when not in use, and which maybe withdrawn from the wall to expose said cylinder when desired; the cavities being selfdischarging upon'rotation of said cylinder.

While certain forms of the apparatus contain movingv parts, they are energized by the movement of the vehicle, and do not require attention, or the application of energy from any. external source, as willbe understood from thefollowing description and the accompanying drawings in which: Y

Fig. 1. i aside elevation .of the invention with a portion broken away to illustrate the internal mechanism. I

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1. I

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a modified form of Wheel which may be substituted for the wheel [2 of Figs. 1 and 2. e

Fig. 41s an end elevationof 3.

Fig.5 is a side elevation, partially in'jsection, showing a receptacle for discarded cigarettes, ashes, etc. in which the elementiillustrated' in Figs. 3 and 4 is used.

While the following description and ,accompanying drawings illustrate the principles of the invention, it is subject to many. modifications, and is not limited to the forms selectedfor-illustration, but only by the scope of the accomepanying claims. I

Referrin to the details, and particularly to, Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral l. represents a part ofa surface inwhich the apparatus, .which, forv convenience, may be called an ash receiver, is

mounted. The part! may represent the front wan bf the instrument-boarder a automobile,

the rear wall of the front seat of an automobile; or any other wall, or plate, forming part of :3. vehicle of any kind in which the device-is mounted. 2 isthe front wall and"3 the sidewalls of the casing in which the moving parts are mounted. This casing is open at the back and is pivotally mounted on the pin 4 to permit it to swing back and forth. It is shown in the open position.

When not in use, it is closed to a position wherein the top of wall 2 contacts the stop 6, and the working parts are concealed, while the walls I and 2 align to form a smooth surface. The knob l is for convenience in opening or closing the device. The waste receiving tray 8, with knob 9, slides in or out on the-stationary support I I, so that it may be removed for disposing of accumulated waste material.

Rotatably mounted within the casing is the wheel [2 which is fixedly secured to the shaft 13. This shaft is reduced in diameter at the ends id, and these ends are-free to rotate in bearings formed in the side plates 3. Cavities 21" for extinguishing cigarettes are radially formed in the Wheel l2. The diameter and depth of these cavities are important. When cavities 2| 7 are properly proportioned, a lighted cigarette, placed with the burning end down in one of thempwill be extinguishedydue to' lackxof' oxygen, in a period of approximately ten seconds. Suitable dimensions of the cavities to accomplish this ob-' ject are from three-eighths to one-half inch in diameter and five-eighths to three quarters inch in depth. The cavities are-preferabl bellmouthed at the entrance, as shown, to facilitate entering the cigarette, and each cavity accommodates only one cigarette at a time. ,Atlhough the dimensions of the cavities'may be somewhat varied, it is essential that the depth of the cavities be'equal to or greater than the diameter, and the diameter must be small enough that a circulation of air within the cavity will not beproduced by the heat of the burning tobacco. Thus,

each cavity servesas a confinin station for extinguishing a lighted cigarette.

The shaft 13 has the ratchet I8 fixedly secured to it, and on either side ofthe'ratchet are the pendulum bars I! which are supported upon the shaft I3 by hooks on their upper ends, as shown. At their lower ends the bars .1! are joined together by the rivet 26 which passes through the pendulum weight 24, which is preferablvmade of lead. 'A pawl 27 is pivotally mounted upon the rivet 29, which, in conjunction withlrivet- 28 joins the pendulum parts into a unit. The pawl i3 loosely so that it is free to swing whenever its equilbrium is disturbed by the motion of the vehicle in which it is mounted.

If the device is mounted on a vehicle, Say an automobile, in .such manner that the motion of the pendulum is parallel with the length of the car, the pendulum will be actuated by any marked change in speed of the vehicle, b-y' changes in the grade, by bumps in the road, by starting or stopping, etc. If the device is mounted so that the pendulum is transverse to i the direction of travel it will be actuated by transverse variations in grade, by curves in the,

highway, and even by such slight changesin direction as are often required to pass a vehicle.

in either direction, but preferably clockwise, so that the empty cavities are more accessible as they emerge from the casing.

Referring particularly to Fig. 5, the casing which is triangular in cross-section, is pivotally mounted upon the pin 41 and the half bearing 48, so that the entire casing and attendant parts may be removed for emptying. is the front wall ofthe casing which is provided with the knob 5| for convenience in opening and closing. The back wall 52 has fixedly secured to it the stop 53, which limits the outward motion of the casing when it strikes the bar .54. Bar 54 also A limits the inward travel of the casing when the the,v casingis' ,inclosed position. The ratchet The finer the teeth of the ratchet the more quickly the wheel will turn. A pitch of from 52" to is. satisfactory and thediameter .of the ratchet may be approximately 'Other forms of a ratchet maybe used in place of the type shown, if desired. A multiple pawl ratchet may be used if it is desired to-increase the rate of rotation. The weight of the pendulum is not critical, but may be of the order'of one to four ounces.

The wheel 1.2,"Which is ao'tuated by the mbtion of the pendulum, moves intermittently and in uneven steps, depending upon the road, rate of travel, etc. Under usual driving conditions the wheel with six cavities will turn at a rate sufiicient to give satisfactory automatic service, yet slowly enough that the discarded cigarettes are, with very rare exceptions, completely extinguished before beingdischargedh Since the cigarettes are automatically extinguished for lack of'oxygen when placed in the cavities 2|, it is unnecessary to crush the burning end of the cigarette to put it out, as is commonly done by cigarette smokersto' avoid the unpleasantv odorjgiv'eh off by burning butts of cigarettes.

While the wheel I2 shows six cavities,' wide wheels with two or more rows of "cavities stag-v gered or otherwise, may be provided, if desired. Referring to Figs.s3 and 4;,these show a modified form of wheel which may be used in place of the wheel l? in Figs. 1" and 2. In this modification the wheel '4] is provided withlon'gitudinal grooves or confining stations 42', which are of such width and length as to accommodate a cigarette lying horizontally in the groove, as indicated diagrammatically at 3. The grooves are preferablyfrounded at'the. bottom to conform more or less to the shape'of the cigarette,

and the width of the grooves may, be from is to wider thanjthe diameter of an average cigarette. The grooves are therefore approximately to in width. With groove's of this size, cigarettes readily drop to the bottom of the groove, and are'promptly discharged by gravity when the lower wall of the" groove in clines downwardly.

Through the longitudinal axis of the wheel 4| is the hole 44, by means of which it is fixedly secured to shaft 46 (Fig., 5), upon which it is caused to rotate by a pendulum and ratchet mechanism (not shown in detail inF-ig. 5 of the same design and construction as was described in connection with Figs. land 2. j f While the wheel l2 in Figs. 1 and 2 is arranged to rotate in counter-clockwise direction, due to the clearance required by the upstanding cigarette, the wheel 4| may be arranged to rotate upper edge of the wall 49 contacts with it when and pawl are omitted from Fig. 5 as they are identical with similar parts in Figs. 1 and 2,

with the exception that they are reversed to give the wheel 4| clockwise movement. The shaft 45, which supports the wheel 4|, has reduced'endportions similar to .s haft H3 and these,

tinguishing the. burning cigarette, as does thev wheel I2, it has been found that when a lighted.

cigarette is placed horizontally in a groove, as described, it gives off practically no smoke or disagreeable .odor. The grooves 42 provide amplefsp'acefor ashes, burnt matches, etc., which are automatically dischargedinto the receptacle below as the wheel rotates From theflforegoing"description it will be .un-

' derstood that the wheel 4| rotates automatically by the movement of the pendulum, and therefore serves as an ash'receiv'er which is self discharging when mounted in any moving vehicle, the motion of which will cause the pendulum to function. The plates 5'! and '58 virtually seal the space within the "casing in such manner that there is no air circulation, and, therefore, practically'no escape or. smoke or unpleasant odor, even though the cigarettes may be discharged from the wheel before they are extinguished.

While. either of the wheels |j2 or, 4| will revolve rapidly enoughfor all practical purposes through the action of the pendulum in a moving vehicle, they may be. manually moved in the event/that the vehicle is stopped, or if the movement of the vehicle should, be so slight, at times, as to fail to discharge the cigarettes sufficiently often. 7

Iclaimz' L 1. Means for'extinguishing cigarettes and receiving ashes and like waste matter comprising a casing; means adapted for pivdtall'y mounting said casing on the wallbfavehicle; ashaftrotatamyjmounted in the'eppcsite walls .of said casing parallel to thepivot of'said casing; a wheel with cavities, the latter having closed bottoms and at least one transverse dimension of approximately the diameterof a cigarette and being oflfgreater depth than the diameter. of a cigarette, adapted to receive discarded cigarettes mounted upon said shaft, said; shaft'being adjacent the top of said casing; a' pendulumsuspended from said shaft adjacent thev axis of said wheel; a ratchet wheel operatively connected with said wheel; and a pawl carried by said pendulum adapted'to engagethe teeth of said ratchet wheel; whereby oscillatory motions of said pendulum are translated into rotary motion of said ratchet wheel and connected parts, said casing housing said pendulum, pawl and ratchet Wheel.

2. Means for extinguishing cigarettes ceiving ashes and like waste matter comprising; a casing; means for pivotally mounting said casing on the wall of a vehicle; a cigarette-extinguishing wheel with cavities of a size adapted to receive and extinguish discarded cigarettes;

a. mounting for said wheel comprising a shaft supported by a wall of said casing; a pendulum suspended from said shaft adapted to oscillate in response to inertia impulses produced by the motion of the vehicle; a ratchet-wheel operatively connected with said cigarette-receiving wheel; and a pawl operatively connected with said ratchet-wheel and pendulum, whereby oscillatory motions of said pendulum are translated into rotary motion of said ratchet-wheel and cigarette-receiving wheel.

ERNEST J. SWEETLAND.

and re- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

